![Sample our Health and Social Care journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5938/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Health-Social-Care.jpg"})
Abstract
The Health Promotion Agency in Northern Ireland commissioned the Northern Ireland Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education to examine the health promotion education needs of general practitioners (GPs). The methodology for the study included an examination of a database to outline the patterns of provision, and uptake of, health promotion continuing medical education (CME), a questionnaire and a series of focus groups. It was clear that, although there is an ample supply of CME meetings in Northern Ireland, the least well provided and least well attended category was health promotion. While GPs suggested a variety of topics which they felt should be the subject of further meetings, many of them reported scepticism about the effectiveness of health promotion strategies and would require more information on the evidence for the effectiveness of health promotion and various patient interventions. Focus groups reported widespread dissatisfaction with the current PGEA system and many GPs commented on the relative underprovision of health promotion education. Implications are discussed along with possible ways forward.